Affordable Dual Zone Cellar with Compressor
Looking for a good-quality medium size wine storage with two zones and quiet compressor cooling at bargain price? Let us recommend you the KingsBottle 50-bottle wine cooler, which is in fact two models with a slight difference in look: the KBU-50D-BP features elegant all-black design, while the KBU-50D-SS has a silver trimmed door.
About the manufacturer: KingsBottle has been a major player in the wine refrigerator industry for many years now focusing mainly on European, Asian and Australian markets with a presence now in the USA as well.
They make wine and beverage coolers in various sizes with reliable quality, attractive design, easy-to-use digital controls, other advanced features and moderate price tags. Their development team is working continuously on improving the quality of KingsBottle wine cellars ensuring great value at affordable price.
Look & Style
The two 50-bottle wine cellar models by KingsBottle have modern look and compact design,a great match to any home decor.
The natural wood shelving and the blue digital interior lighting and temperature readout go well with the black cabinet and slightly tinted glass front.
The insulated, double pane glass door features a safety lock in the bottom frame (not the most ideal and convenient place for a door lock though) so you keep your wines locked away. Two keys are included should you loose one.
Efficient compressor cooling aided by quality fan air circulation ensures pretty stable cabinet temperature and pretty silent operation.
The wine cooler (both models) vents in the front through a black grille allowing the option of built-in or free standing placement with minimal clearance (1/2″ is recommended at all sides in the instruction manual in case of built-in installation):
Shelving
Sturdy, natural hardwood shelves (5 altogether) hold the bottles. They can be pulled out to easily access bottles, you can also remove one or two racks to stacked storage to be able to fill the cooler up to its maximum 50 bottles capacity. Shelves are designed to hold max. 55 lbs weight.
Lower zone shelves can hold 8 bottles in single row, the bottom small rack holds 6 bottles.. The top zone shelves can each accommodate 14 bottles:one row of 8 bottles with 6 stacked on them.
Features at a Glance
- Capacity: 50 bottles (normal size and shape, 750 ml, Bordeaux bottles): full capacity can be reached if you remove half of the shelves
- Design: Cabinet: black cabinet with black interior,
- Door: double pane, UV protecting, darkened glass door with black plastic (KBU-50D-BP) or stainless steel trim (KBU-50D-SS), stainless steel model has a curved stainless steel handle, while black model’s handle is recessed, hinging is reversible, safety lock with 2 keys
- Low-intensity blue LED interior light
- Control panel with touch buttons and blue digital readout
- Cooling method: LG compressor (R134A refrigerant) with good-quality (Taiwan made) fan for even air circulation
- Number of zones: Two zones, each with its own controls.
- Built-in/Freestanding: both, can be slotted in existing cabinetry or placed as standalone
- Temperature Control & Display: the control panel is fitted between the two zones and has the following touch buttons: On/Off switch, Light switch, Select Upper or Lower, the temperature is displayed in cool blue LED: Temperature Range: lower zone 45 – 64°F (7- 18°C), upper zone: 41 – 60°F (5 – 16°C)
- Shelving: 5 gliding and removable hardwood shelves
- Noise: low noise, less than 41 dBa
- Electricity consumption: 130 Watts ( cc. 0,83 kWh/24 hours)
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 34.86″ x 23.42″ x 23.62″ w. handle)
- Weight: 112.4 lbs. (45 kg)
- Price (MSRP): $950 – $1000 ($19-20/bottle)
- Warranty: 1 year parts and labor, can be extended to 3 years (costs $119)
Setting the Temperature
Temperature setting is pretty straightforward with the push buttons. The operating panel placed between the two zones features several buttons and the display for each zone. There’s the
- On/off switch,
- the light switch turn turn On or Off the interior LEDs,
- and the SELECT Upper – Lower buttons.
After plugging the unit in, press the On/Off button to turn on the wine fridge.
Press the SELECT button to choose Upper or Lower (temperature can be set independently in both compartments). Note: for optimum cooling, the lower zone’s temp. must be set at least 4 degrees higher than upper zone’s. The bottom zone can be set between 45°F and 64°F while the top zone can be adjusted from 41°F to 60°F.
Set the temperature of one of the zones by pressing the Up and Down arrows until you reach the desired value (one press increases or decreases the temp. by 1 increment). When you press the Up/Down buttons for the first time, the display will show the factory set temperature (41 for upper zone, 45 for lower zone).
After a couple of seconds setting the temperature, the display screens will switch to show the actual temperature in each zone.
Placement
Place the wine refrigerator in a room when the ambient temperature is in the range of 32 – 100°F. Solid, even flooring is recommended that can hold the unit fully loaded.
You can level the cabinet by turning the adjustable legs. Plug it in a properly grounded 115V/60Hz wall outlet (do not use a double adaptor or extension cord).
After setting the temperature let the unit empty for an our or two to see if it operated correctly.
User Reviews, Pros & Cons
Update April 2014: a couple of complaints on poor customer service. An owner of another Kingsbottle model, (the 170-bottle) mentioned that KingsBottle wine coolers are the same cheaply made units rebranded as N’FINITY wine cellars (a line retailed by Wine Enthusiast) received very negative reviews, and lots of complaints on compressor noise, and other quality issues).
All in all owners of the cooler are satisfied with their purchase: One owner reported (March 2014 review) that shelves in his unit weren’t level and the compressor cycled frequently to be able to hold the temperature.
Besides this negative review, which might be a one off, most owners praise the functionality and look of both 50-bottle KingsBottle models.
Of course you will not able to place 50 bottles in the unit with all the racks in, but this is is the same with all other wine fridges in this price range.
A great choice if you don’t want to break the bank to have an appliance that keep your wines within fairly good conditions (away from sunlight, at cool temperatures, protected from food odor that can affect wine if you store it in the kitchen fridge).
Summary – Why Buy the KingsBottle 50-Bottle Wine Cooler?
After reviewing many wine coolers we can safely say that the KingsBottle 50-Bottle wine refrigerator is one of the best for the price in its category.
Stylish decor, quality shelving, two independently controlled zones for storing red and whites, low noise, lockable door, easy to use digital controls – all for well under $1000 (most stores offer both models at lower price than the retail price recommended by the manufacturer.
These two models, KBU-50D-BP and KBU-50D-SS offer more for your money that most other wine refrigerators with the same technical features.
A 30-bottle wine cooler by EdgeStar, for example offers the same per bottle price ($20 per bottle, though KingsBottle’s is lower if you can get a great deal on it for example at Amazon).
Similar Wine Storage Units
See a selection of top-rated 40-50-Bottle wine cellars.
Official website of the manufacturer, KingsBottle.